Goddesses, demons, witches and spirits feature in groundbreaking exhibition exploring feminine power

7 December 2022

National Museum of Australia only Australian venue in major British Museum tour

A bold exhibition exploring female spiritual beings and feminine power in the ancient and modern world, featuring stunning objects from the British Museum, opens at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra on 8 December 2022.

In a timely contribution to the national discussion around female representation, Feared and Revered: Feminine Power through the Ages explores the historic and contemporary representations of female power and authority, and unearths how female spiritual beings were revered by ancient and modern cultures.

From passion and desire to magic and malice, Feared and Revered explores the many faces of feminine power and examines how goddesses, demons, witches and spirits have shaped and continue to shape our understanding of the world and the role of women in it.

Featuring more than 160 objects from six continents, dating over 5,000 years, from 2800 BCE to 2021, Feared and Revered takes a cross-cultural look at the influence of female spiritual power over history. Only 13 of the objects have previously toured to Australia. Sculpture, paintings and dedicatory objects from ancient and medieval cultures across the globe are exhibited alongside contemporary artwork.

Highlights include a monumental 18th dynasty seated statue of the Egyptian goddess of war and destruction, Sekhmet (1391–1353 BCE); an exquisitely carved carnelian Hellenistic ring featuring the head of Medusa with snakes in her hair (100 BCE–100 CE); an early Roman seal depicting Adam and Eve; among the earliest sculptural depictions of the female form – a Cycladic violin-shaped figurine (2800 BCE); a star of the British Museum’s collection – the terracotta Queen of the Night relief, thought to depict the Babylonian goddess of sexual passion and war, Ishtar (1750 BCE); and a scene from the Ancient Egyptian ‘Greenfield Papyrus’ depicting the sky goddess, Nut – the manuscript is one of the longest and most beautifully illustrated of the Book of the Dead to have survived and is rarely displayed due to its fragility (950–930 BCE).

The exhibition includes Australian First Nations representations of female ancestral figures and popular culture embodiments of the divine, reflected in a costume worn by Kylie Minogue in her 2011 ‘Aphrodite: Les Folies’ tour.

Feared and Revered is a newly developed exhibition by the British Museum which opened in the United Kingdom in May 2022 and has travelled to Australia as its first international venue.

Feared and Revered is the fifth in a series of British Museum exhibitions which have featured at the National Museum of Australia, following Ancient Greeks: Athletes, Warriors and Heroes (2021); Rome: City and Empire (2018), A History of the World in 100 Objects (2016) and Encounters: Revealing Stories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Objects from the British Museum (2015).

ACT Minister for the Arts Tara Cheyne said, ‘As part of the ACT Government’s ongoing commitment to the tourism, events, arts and cultural sectors, we are very pleased to be supporting the National Museum of Australia in staging this blockbuster exhibition. It provides another great reason for interstate visitors to organise a trip to the nation’s capital and Canberra region.’

National Museum of Australia director Dr Mathew Trinca said he was thrilled to bring such an intriguing and timely show to the country, exploring feminine power, authority and identity.

‘This unique and inspiring exhibition explores the representation of female spiritual beings over history and how their depiction in ancient and modern cultures and in mythology shaped, and continues to shape, cultural understanding of the world and the role of women in it,’ Dr Trinca said.

‘Australian audiences will be fascinated by this show which melds historic and contemporary reflections on feminine spiritual power – the exhibition is the fifth in a series of British Museum exhibitions that have featured at the National Museum of Australia and builds on our strong partnership.’

British Museum director Dr Hartwig Fischer said, ‘From deep history to the present day, goddesses, spirits, demons, holy women and other manifestations of female authority have played a significant role in shaping historical and contemporary beliefs and cultures across the world.

‘Feared and Revered directly engages with important social issues impacting the modern world and by presenting this exhibition to an Australian audience it allows us to reflect on the commonality of our own experiences and continue the dialogue on what femininity means today.’

British Museum curator Dr Belinda Crerar said, ‘Powerful goddesses, spirits, demons and saints live in the hearts and minds of people around the globe. They may be perceived as generous and comforting, or terrifying and aggressive, and their celebration and veneration over thousands of years has produced a wealth of art, poetry and prose.’

National Museum curator Cheryl Crilly said, ‘Australian audiences will be inspired, energised and perhaps even surprised by the range of female spiritual beings in this exhibition. Their stories – filled with magic, wisdom, fury and passion – are compelling and take us through time and global culture. Strong and striking objects and artworks reveal the presence of female and feminine power in many faiths and belief systems and how it has shaped cultural attitudes towards women and gender identity.’

Feared and Revered is enhanced by contemporary reflections by former Governor-General Dame Quentin Bryce AD CVO; Bangarra dance artist Kassidy Waters; world-renowned classicist Dame Mary Beard DBE; human rights lawyer Rabia Siddique; comedian and host of The Guilty Feminist podcast, Deborah Frances-White; playwright and critic Bonnie Greer OBE; and award-winning writer and presenter of the podcast How to Fail, Elizabeth Day.

Feared and Revered: Feminine Power through the Ages is on show at the National Museum of Australia from 8 December 2022 to 27 August 2023.

Feared and Revered: Feminine Power through the Ages was supported by the Australian Government International Exhibitions Insurance (AGIEI) Program. This program provides funding for the purchase of insurance for significant cultural exhibitions. Without AGIEI, the high cost of insuring significant cultural items would prohibit this major exhibition from touring to Australia.

Background

Feared and Revered: Feminine Power through the Ages from the British Museum takes a cross-cultural look at the importance and influence of the power and diversity of female spiritual beings from the ancient world to the present.

The exhibition is divided into five themes: Creation and Nature; Passion and Desire; Magic and Malice; Justice and Defence; Compassion and Salvation.

Feared and Revered depicts female spiritual beings through the ages, ranging from Neolithic statuettes to contemporary art, and explores how ancient material culture and beliefs influence contemporary debates on female authority, femininity and gender identity – and how these beliefs continue to evolve.

Canberra and the National Museum will be the only Australian venue for this exhibition, which will run for an extended nine-month period.

This timely exhibition explores the portrayal of feminine spiritual power, drawing objects from six continents dating over 5000 years from 2800 BCE to 2022.

More than 160 objects from the British Museum’s collection highlight the many faces of feminine power – ferocious, beautiful, creative, or hell-bent – and their seismic influence throughout time and cultures.

Only 13 objects have previously been to Australia and the National Museum will exhibit around 80 additional objects which were not on display in the British Museum’s version of the show in London.

New objects include large Egyptian, Middle Eastern and Greek statues, figures and pottery from the Ancient Greek world, Indian relief carvings and figures, Roman coins and an incantation bowl and magical gem for protecting against the demon Lilith.

Australian objects include Yawkyawk fibre sculptures and fabrics, First Nations representations of a female water ancestor spirit. A costume worn by Kylie Minogue in her 2011 ‘Aphrodite: Les Folies’ tour will be on display alongside a classical marble statue of Aphrodite, known as Venus by the Romans.

Key objects from the British Museum

• Seated statue of Sekhmet: Monumental 18th dynasty seated figure of Sekhmet, the bloodthirsty and terrifying Egyptian goddess who embodied war and destruction. This is a companion piece to the standing Sekhmet, which is also in the exhibition, 1391–1353 BCE.
• Carved intaglio ring with Medusa’s head: This finely carved carnelian intaglio, mounted in a gold ring, shows the head of Medusa in profile, with wings on her temples and snake-like hair. Medusa is one of the best-known monsters of Greek mythology. Italy, 100 BCE – 100 CE.
• ‘Queen of the Night’ relief, thought to depict the Babylonian goddess of sexual passion and war, Ishtar, and a star of the British Museum’s collection (about 1750 BCE).
• Among the earliest depictions of the sculptural female form is a Cycladic figurine (2800 BCE) made from marble. Thousands of figures with female stylised anatomical features were found in settlement sites and graves, suggesting women and femininity were culturally or spiritually significant for these ancient societies. Greece.
• Wooden headpiece, Mami Wata: Painted wood and metal, Nigeria, early 1900s. Originally part of a mask, this headpiece was worn during masquerades by female initiates from the Annang Ibibio peoples of south-eastern Nigeria. It shows Mami Wata, spirit of water and wealth, as a fashionable woman with two attendants.
• Marble statue of Aphrodite: Magnificent 2.2 metre statue of goddess Venus emerging from her bath. This Roman sculpture was influenced by the famous Aphrodite of Knidos by Praxiteles, now lost. Aphrodite embodied Ancient Greek ideals of female beauty. Rome, Italy, 100-150CE.
• Page from the Ancient Egyptian ‘Greenfield Papyrus’ depicting the sky goddess, Nut: One of the longest and most beautifully illustrated manuscripts to have survived, the Book of the Dead of Nestanebetisheru is rarely displayed due to its fragility (950–930 BCE).
• Amida Buddha scroll: Composed of tens of thousands of tiny characters quoting text from the three great sutras of Pure Land Buddhism – never been loaned previously and rarely on public display due to its fragility (1796).
• Woodcut print, The Witches’ Sabbath, 1510 by Hans Baldung Grien, Germany: This woodcut print mocks the macabre and diabolical view of witches expressed in European demonological texts of the late 1400s and 1500s.
• China Supay mask: Painted plaster, hair and glass, Bolivia, 1985. This Bolivian mask is part of a costume worn by female dancers during La Diablada (Dance of the Devils), a folk dance celebrating the triumph of the Archangel Michael over Satan.
• Kali icon by Kaushik Ghosh, India, 2021: In the Devi Mahatmya (400–600 CE) the goddess Kali is the ferocious manifestation of Durga’s rage and is connected to death and the creative and destructive power of time.
• Screenprint The Creation by Judy Chicago: In the 1980s, Judy Chicago embarked on The Birth Project to challenge a longstanding Christian tradition of depicting a male deity creating life. This vibrant print reimagines the creation of the world from an overtly Western feminist perspective. It depicts a female deity in a birthing position, her body erupting with life as primordial creatures flow and evolve from her vulva.
• Carved figure, Tiare Wahine by Tom Pico (born 1950), Hawaii, USA. Pico named this sculpture Tiare Wahine (The Flowered Woman) in keeping with his belief that to avoid angering Pele (Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes), her name should never be spoken aloud.
• Lithograph Lilith by Henry Weston Keen, United Kingdom, 1925–1930 CE. A brooding, muscular Lilith, naked apart from a black robe which swirls around her and seated above a pile of skulls and tiger lilies.
• Rangda mask made from painted wood, gilding, boars’ tusks, Bali, Indonesia, about 1950. The face of Rangda, the demon queen in Balinese tradition, with bulging eyes and huge teeth.
• Ivory Virgin and Child, 13th century sculpture of the Virgin Mary and Christ child produced at height of Gothic ivory carving in France – shows Mary as a doting mother while also crushing evil underfoot.
• Roman intaglio with image of Adam and Eve, this onyx gemstone bears one of the earliest surviving images of The Fall, depicting the critical moment when Eve, tempted by the serpent, disobeys God and picks the forbidden fruit. Italy, 200–400 CE.

Australian objects

• Yawkyawk objects from Western Arnhem Land: For the Kunijku people, Yawkyawk are young female Ancestral beings who inhabit freshwater pools and streams. Two carved sculptures by renowned artist Owen Yalandja, contemporary fibre art sculptures and beautiful screen-printed textiles will be on display as part of the Creation and Nature theme.
• Kylie Minogue costume: worn by the Australian pop goddess during her 2011 'Aphrodite: Les Folies' tour. On loan from Arts Centre Melbourne. Designed by Dolce and Gabbana.

Feared and Revered: Feminine Power through the Ages was supported by the Australian Government International Exhibitions Insurance (AGIEI) Program. This program provides funding for the purchase of insurance for significant cultural exhibitions. Without AGIEI, the high cost of insuring significant cultural items would prohibit this major exhibition from touring to Australia.

Media contact: Diana Streak 02 6208 5091 | 0409 888 976 or media@nma.gov.au